Everything you need to know to start a life in Taiwan

Hey guys, before we get started with today’s article, I just wanted to let you all know that from now on all of my articles and posts are going to be re-routed to my new and improved website eazychinese.com. We had a good run here on LifeasaforeignerinTaiwan, but alas it has come to an end. So please, keep on following me and keep on learning Chinese!!!!

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s dig in!

Here’s a list of ten words in Mandarin whose pronunciation is similar to words in English. Making an association with words you already know can help you to remember new vocabulary. I want to stress, this is only one tool, don’t abuse it and make her you have more tools in your language learning toolbox.

1. 豬 sounds like “zoo”

zhū- pig

2. 牛 sounds like “Neo” from the Matrix!

niú- cow

3. 不可 sounds like “book”

bùkě- cannot, mustn’t

4. 我們 sounds like “woman”

wǒmen- we, us

5. 襪子 sounds like “what’s”, as in “what’s up?”

wàzi- sock(s)

6. 好 sounds like “how?”

hǎo- good, fine

7. 買 sounds like “my”

mǎi- buy

8. 你的 sounds like “need”

níde- your, yours

9. 位 sounds like “way”

wèi- measure word for people(polite)

10. 頭髮 sounds like “too far”

tóufa- hair(on your head)

The list goes on and on, these 10 words barely even scratch the surface. Most importantly, remember to have FUN with your Chinese learning! Stay tuned for our next installment in this series, and in the meantime make sure to follow along with all of our lessons and articles. 洗牙。。。sounds like “see ya!”

Hey guys, I just wanted to let y’all know about an article that I wrote as a guest post for chinese-tools.com earlier this week. It has some pretty powerful ideas for how you can keep from plateuing in your Chinese learning. And it will also remind you what is really important, and why you’re learning Chinese to begin with.

Hey guys, how was your Labor Day weekend? Did you go anywhere, or do anything exciting? I went on a road trip with my family. We got up bright and early Friday morning and piled in the car, where we would stay for the next 8 hours! My legs were cramping big-time by the time we arrived, but it was all worth it though, as we found Hotsprings, Arkansas to be a really interesting place. In fact, it may sound weird, but my wife and I both felt like it was almost like we were back in Taiwan! Well, not really, but the similarities were there: mountain views, tightly packed streets with plenty of store-front shops, and even hotsprings! It was a lot of fun, and I recommend you go there and check it out for yourselves!

Anyway, on to business!

The biggest factor in sucessfully learning a language is whether or not you actually spend an adequate time speaking it. You could memorize vocabulary flashcards until your blue in the face, but it won’t really help you in the long-run. You need to engage other people in real-life conversation if you want to achieve any level of proficiency. Period.

Well, that might be a problem. You might find yourself without anyone to practice with, and while talking to yourself is usually discouraged in most circles, it can help…to an extent! So with that in mind, I have decided to provide a new service to you, my loyal readers, as I want nothing more than for you to succeed in learning Chinese, which is why I have decided to host weekly webinars(1-1.5 hrs in duration) at various pre-set times(feel free to attend as often as you like, the more frequently you do, the faster your Chinese will improve!) to give you all the chance to come together as a community and speak Chinese. During this time, I’ll be offering some instruction, but the overall focus will be on conversation, as the only way to get better at something is to do it…a lot.

Stay tuned for more updates on the webinar sessions, the first of which will be taking place later on in the month.

I really and truly aim to get you speaking Chinese, not just learning it, using it! So let me know what you think, and let’s get a conversation going!

These five phrases are essential, especially if you ever plan to visit a Chinese speaking country as a tourist, or even live in one. Armed with these phrases, you will come across as a very polite, respectful and well-mannered individual, and I wouldn’t be surprise if you found the local people going out of their way to help you. So pay attention! Also, let me know how this lesson helped you, and if there are any other phrases that you just have to know. Study hard and I’ll see you next time!

In a perfect world, you wouldn’t have to waste time thinking about things like how your language exchange partner should behave, because they’d be perfect! If that’s the case, then good or you! If, however, you’re stuck down here on Earth like the rest of us, then pay attention. This article may save you some headaches, and heartbreaks, lol!

1. Patience

This is super important, because when you first begin speaking a new language, it’s very difficult to make yourself coherent, and chances are you are going to have to repeat yourself A LOT in order to get your meaning through. Don’t let this discourage you, is part of the learning process! If you have a language exchange partner that is immediately or reacting you, not trying to understand what you are trying to say, or sort of all, laughs at your attempts to peak their language(unless they explain a joke of some sort, maybe a lingual mishap on your part, I’ve had some!), then you should kick them to the curb, they aren’t helping you learn!

There’s no doubt about it, Chinese is the biggest “fad” language around. Everyone wants to learn it(or should!), and for good reason. In today’s article, I’m going to break it down for you and give you my top seven reasons to start learning Chinese today!

China is the most densely populated country in the world. Seriously, there’s over a billion people in China. That’s around a fifth of the world’s population. Granted, not all of them speak Mandarin(there are soon many dialects of Chinese, almost as many as there are people!) but more and more do, and eventually they all will. Take Hong Kong for example. In the past, people from, say Taiwan, would be unable to communicate with Hong Kongers. Now, more and more of them are learning Mandarin(since being reunited with China), enough so that when my wife and I run-into them here in Texas, we can communicate with them. Mandarin is growing like crazy, and there’s never been a better time to learn it.

Today I’m going to teach you how to use 一點 in Mandarin. This is useful when talking about how you want something, or how you want it done. Such as bigger, smaller, more, less, etc. follow along with the video and make sure to pay close attention to the sentences below. This one lesson will help you to really make your Chinese sound more complete. Enjoy!